In this episode, we flip the script and hear about Jon Coakley's backstory leading up to his conversion, and how two missionaries - Brent Bowen and Marshall Butler - were uniquely prepared to teach him the gospel.
It shows us that even in the midst of tests and trials, if we trust in God and His timing, things have a unique way of working out.
*** Please SHARE Brent and Marshall's story and help us spread hope and light to others. ***
To WATCH this episode on YouTube, visit: https://youtu.be/SFPtWcebsis
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Also, if you have a faith-promoting or inspiring story, or know someone who does, please let us know by going to https://www.latterdaylights.com and reaching out to us.
In this episode, we flip the script and hear about Jon Coakley's backstory leading up to his conversion, and how two missionaries - Brent Bowen and Marshall Butler - were uniquely prepared to teach him the gospel.
It shows us that even in the midst of tests and trials, if we trust in God and His timing, things have a unique way of working out.
*** Please SHARE Brent and Marshall's story and help us spread hope and light to others. ***
To WATCH this episode on YouTube, visit: https://youtu.be/SFPtWcebsis
-----
Also, if you have a faith-promoting or inspiring story, or know someone who does, please let us know by going to https://www.latterdaylights.com and reaching out to us.
Hi everyone, I'm Scott Brandley.
Alisha Coakley:And I'm Alisha Coakley. Every member of the church has a story to share, one that can instill faith, invite growth and inspire others.
Scott Brandley:On today's episode we're going to hear how two companions witnessed answers to prayers and realized there's always more to the story when God is the author. Welcome to Latter-day Lights. Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of Latter-day Lights. We're so glad you're here with us today and we have a special treat to guests actually on the show, brent Bowen and Marshall Butler, who we have actually have ties to going back what like four years now Five years, five and a half years now.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, yeah, five and a half years.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, you guys were missionaries in our ward, yep companions and these are the missionaries that baptized my husband. So I'm really excited today because I get to hear a little bit more Like I know some of the backstory, but I get to hear a little bit more because they have a very unique situation. It's definitely something that I have never heard of happening. Like in all of my time of being a member of the church I've never heard this thing happening. I'm not going to spoil it, but it was really really cool and so we're excited. But before we get to the story, let's take just a quick second to introduce who you guys are Brent Bowen first and then Marshall Butler. Do you want to start and just kind of tell the audience a little bit about yourself?
Brent Bowen:Of course, as Alisha said, I'm Brent Bowen. I'm from Northwest Florida and I served in the Logan mission and in the Ogden mission from 2017 to 2019. It was a great time and that's where I got to meet both Scott and Alisha, and John as well and yeah, that's me.
Alisha Coakley:And what's your relationship status? Your kids?
Scott Brandley:status.
Brent Bowen:Okay, I'm currently engaged to a wonderful young woman. Her name is Madison. She attends the University of Florida.
Alisha Coakley:No children for obvious reasons, I do have a cat.
Brent Bowen:I've been in the moment so she doesn't tear the house apart. There you go.
Alisha Coakley:Awesome, very cool. All right, and Mr Marshall, what about you?
Marshall Butler:My name is Marshall. I grew up in the Washington DC area on the East Coast and then served in the Utah Logan mission the same time as Brent, 2017 to 2019. And then, after that, I went to school at BYU and I'm about to graduate there with the degree in manufacturing engineering, and Brent and I are still friends. I got to see him in Florida last year. It's been fun. It's been, I guess, yeah, five years now since we were companions and it's been fun to stay connected over the years.
Alisha Coakley:Awesome.
Scott Brandley:That's cool, because I only stayed friends with one of my companions but we served together twice. Actually that the one I'm friends with, because you guys served together twice, right, scott?
Alisha Coakley:just ruined it.
Scott Brandley:Yeah, oh, is that the secret?
Alisha Coakley:It was a secret. I never knew that that happened. It's not very common.
Scott Brandley:Well, I didn't know that was the secret. But yeah, it is rare to have that happen. That's interesting. See this guy's Scott, and I know him. I don't talk before the show, I'm sorry.
Alisha Coakley:I ruined the surprise. Well, it's a cool story anyway and I love it. That's really neat. Now I'm going to have to hear your thing. So wow, there you go.
Scott Brandley:Well, maybe I'll pitch in and Marshall what about your relationship status.
Marshall Butler:I've tried dating different people over the years. Someone went pretty far, but in the end I am still single.
Alisha Coakley:Single looking in Utah. I vouch for them. All right, we'll get some ladies emailing us pictures, stats.
Scott Brandley:Let's see, so you're 23.
Alisha Coakley:I know we have Clarissa. That's immediately what I went with this. Yeah, I'm thinking. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Clarissa, that would be a good match, right there, you should.
Scott Brandley:Well, I'll give you her number when we're done. Okay, sounds good.
Alisha Coakley:So I'll give you her number when we're done. That's a really good match. I'm thinking of making it. It's fine. That would just make me so excited guys, I can't even. Poor Clarissa, she's probably editing this episode and she's like oh, stop trying it. Okay, Well, now, yeah, but now I'm in on it.
Scott Brandley:So now she lives with me.
Alisha Coakley:So Well, it's funny, well, awesome.
Scott Brandley:Well, we are excited to hear your guys' story, so why don't we pass the baton over to you guys? I'm excited to hear your guys' story, so why don't we pass the baton over to you guys?
Alisha Coakley:Yeah.
Scott Brandley:Go ahead.
Brent Bowen:I'll jump in first, if that's okay. I was called to serve in the Logan mission back in July, but then I went to the MTC and stuff in October of 2017. And I made it to Logan and they said, well, your first year is gonna be in Brigham City. And I kind of struggled a little bit at first. I wasn't having the best time and I was talking to my mission president. I was like president, I don't understand. I'm not having a good time. I feel homesick. It's cold out here. I'm used to Florida where it's 75 degrees all year. I don't know about the snow. I wanna see my mom. And he said, well, here's what I'll do. He says I've got a really good companion in mind for you and I said, okay, I trust you, president.
Scott Brandley:And this was president Arred. He was amazing.
Brent Bowen:I love president Allred with all my heart, and so I got transferred to the Logan stake in. I think it was February of 2018. And I was just out of training and Marshall was one transfer ahead of me, so we were both very young missionaries and that was one of my favorite transfers ever. We ended up serving together for two transfers. I think yeah three months. Yeah, three months, and we had so much fun together. It was a great, great time, and I could never have hoped for a better opportunity than to be Marshall's companion.
Alisha Coakley:Nice, All right. And then Marshall, where were you at?
Scott Brandley:Marshall's like it was the worst.
Marshall Butler:No, it was so bad. I'm just kidding. But leading up to that, though, I was in the Logan stake just to see you know about the area. It's on the western part of Logan and there's a lot of cows over there. We were on bicycles and trying to ride bicycles in the snow and ice with a lot of smelly cows and you know, isn't ideal, and so I wasn't too happy about the environment that we were in, because it was just a lot of time outdoors in the cold and I just didn't like the cold. But I'm sure Brent hated it even more, being from Florida, but it was anyways.
Marshall Butler:And at the time, right before he came, I was with this other companion who had taught me so much. His name was Elder Gomez Perez and he was from Mexico and he was super smart. I went to Ivy League school and was teaching me so many really cool things and I was so excited to be with him. And then he left and I was frustrated. I'm like God you made me leave this awesome guy, like what you know, and then I had to stay in the cold place where, with the cows, and I didn't wasn't super a big fan of being stuck there. I'm like, okay, great, if you're taking this person away. Who's going to be coming next? You know, and hopefully this is good.
Marshall Butler:And Brent came and he was just on the first actually the first several weeks is really quiet Just showed up with this big coat, red hair and a super quiet kid and his big smile on his face. I'm like, okay, we'll see, okay, this'll be fun. I didn't know anything about him. He was really quiet and so several days that he just wouldn't talk very much, kind of homesick and, would you know, look at pictures of home all the time, and which is okay. I just was like, how do I talk to this guy? You know, I'm a young, I'm just out of high school, myself didn't really know how to interact with people, and so it just as we first.
Marshall Butler:It took several weeks of first getting to know each other, where we opened up and we're more willing to share just life, stories and whatnot, and so, but I was it was a shift coming from this super, you know, successful kind of guy who's, you know, gonna start his own business kind of person to Brent, who's a super nice, lovable, quiet guy who likes hunting and whatnot. And so I was in the middle of that shift, trying to figure out okay, how do I, you know, navigate, working with this totally different person. But one thing Brent was really good at was he was really good at connecting with people, especially in that because Brent is from a smaller town which, since we were in that part of Logan where people liked hunting and being outdoors, he could just have a conversation with anyone. You know me, being from DC, my dad's a scientist.
Marshall Butler:I, you know I, had nothing in common with these people as much, and so it was kind of hard, but anyway, but Brent and I love being together. We built snowmen's together in the snow and did a lot of fun late night. I mean, we were just following mission rules but still, you know, having fun as we went out.
Scott Brandley:You rebel, you were like it was like 940.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, like ooh, we're gonna finish the snowman.
Marshall Butler:Yeah, brent's personal man together we did. We did out of the house we lived in.
Alisha Coakley:Very cool, all right. So you guys are partnered up, you're getting to know each other. Why don't you tell us what happens next?
Brent Bowen:What happens next was one of the most frustrating people. I think that we ever taught, individually or together. We were I'm not sure how long y'all had been teaching him before I showed up, but when I got into the area we were teaching him and he was from out of state. He'd never really heard of the church until he got here and he was excited to learn about the church. But he just couldn't let go of these misconceptions that he had about our beliefs. And he was very religious.
Brent Bowen:He loved the Bible and I wanna say he had a Baptist background and he would ask us he's really hard questions about like correlating between the Bible and the Book of Mormon and I. I wouldn't have answers for them immediately, so we would go home, marshall and I and this is one of my favorite things, marshall and I, when we would do our companionship studies were those were like some of my favorite times on the mission was doing companionship study with Marshall and so we had planned these lessons out for our investigator and we would come back to him with the answers that we had decided on, that we had found in the scriptures, and he would never be open to our answers. He would ask us questions. We wouldn't know, we'd research it and he wouldn't accept it, and that was a cycle that we followed for several weeks and it was frustrating.
Alisha Coakley:And if I remember correctly, you guys said that he had like a lot of Old Testament questions was it right. Like that was like his big thing was. He just really liked the Old Testament specifically. And I'm assuming, even though you guys grew up in the church, you're still brand new missionaries and so it's not like you were scholars by any means. And the Old Testament is hard, it's really hard, you know. So all right, so you guys go back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth. What happened with this?
Marshall Butler:guy. Well, there's a couple other things we want to add in too, if that's okay. Yeah, there's some super key things that happened with his experience. One was, in addition to us being together with you know, teaching this guy, we also had an unofficial mentor, a gospel teacher, at the. He is a guy who is an older gentleman, who just loved hanging out with missionaries, and he had a big red truck and he would drive us around and we would call.
Marshall Butler:You know, we were on bikes and if it was snowing outside, we'd call and say, hey, we need a ride, and he would say your payment for the ride is you have to ask me a gospel question or we have to have a gospel conversation. We have to share scripture. If you don't have a scripture to share, you're not getting in the car, and so we would, you know, have to have some questions or scriptures or things to talk about, and anyway. And so, little by little, we started bringing up these questions that the other gentleman that we were teaching had and sharing them with him, and he would say, well, did you think about this? And we're like, oh, I've never even read that. And he reads the scriptures like crazy. His Bible is like way thick because he glues in all these extra little sticky notes and things and so his Bible is twice as thick, you know, and he studies all the time. We went to his house and he has this huge room full of church books and we would just study with him too.
Marshall Butler:Anyway, but he's kind of what got us both excited about studying and about seeking answers for things. It wasn't, you know, we were so young, we didn't have a lot of experiences, not like we were so genius and found on this on our own. You know he he was a great mentor in in that sense, and so he gave us some answers to some questions that were a little bit debodactric, but more so he got us excited about learning and really pushed us to study the Bible more. And the combination of that mentor at the same time as this other guy who was giving us really hard questions, was a great combination. And then we took the you know, the guidance from the mentor, the hard questions from the other guy, and then we sat in companionship study a lot of time just reading and reading. And our companionship studies went longer than maybe the mission president would have liked, you know, but they were great, they were spiritual, like inspiring conversations we were having, and I really miss those.
Alisha Coakley:That's neat.
Brent Bowen:Unfortunately, after two transfers, three months, marshall and I were transferred away from each other. I stayed in the area we had stopped teaching this gentleman before Marshall left but Elder Butler left and I stayed in the area for quite a while longer but I eventually got transferred down to the Rockcliff steak and I was there with Elder Baxter at the time and I loved the new experience of Ockden. It was a fun place. It didn't smell like cows anymore, it was like an urban area. I was really digging it. It was a lot of fun.
Scott Brandley:Yeah, other people are pretty cool there.
Marshall Butler:Yeah, we had a really cool fish show.
Alisha Coakley:Very, very cool. And then that was in. When would you, was it?
Brent Bowen:that was in August of 2008.
Marshall Butler:Yeah, when you went down, I was still in Logan for a little bit longer, right, yeah? So after Brent left, I was still up in the Logan area, and after this one guy. The reason we keep talking about this one guy is because we spent hours and hours in each lesson. One of their lessons was like four or five hours long.
Brent Bowen:Wow, we were in a missionary, so we didn't really our eyes and concepts weren't on getting in there and teaching. We were like we have to teach this man, so we would spend hours with them and, oh my goodness, it was crazy and then for it to result in like nothing.
Alisha Coakley:Well and it didn't mention you didn't have the baptism. You didn't have that. You know you're like right. Right.
Marshall Butler:He was. Yeah, there was a lot of contention there too and and he wanted us to come. But we realized later that he was more interested in trying to convince us that we were wrong and that we need to leave the church was kind of his agenda we figured out towards the end and he was just throwing in so many doubts and I was like you don't even have. His questions weren't even really questions by the end. You know, they were more just trying to make us to to read look at the Bible from a different lens, from a more non-LDS perspective, which was came helpful later, right? Anyway, those questions that he kept asking things about Joseph, the history of Joseph Smith, the history of you know the way Jesus Christ, some of his even questioning some of Jesus Christ teachings, and just maybe they resonate with me made me think a lot.
Marshall Butler:And around this time I actually came across some, some other missionary or a committee member, missionary or church member, and they said that they have this the way that they do scriptures days. They have this, this journal, and whenever they get a question that they don't know the answer to, they write the question down and then they have a. Eventually it's pages and pages of questions that they don't know the answers to, about you know something about Christ or whatever, and then they go later and answer those by, you know, filling in. They read scriptures and find the answers to them. And I thought about that and at this time I had all those questions you know that the guy asked me I didn't know answers to.
Marshall Butler:I heard that idea I thought was a great idea, so I bought a new scripture study journal and started, you know, adding in all these questions and I started studying more and more and then occasionally actually, I would call Brent, who was down in Ogden, and say, hey, what are your thoughts on this?
Marshall Butler:You know what? This verse or something, because he just had Brenda's has a great way of looking at the scriptures and different insights I would never get. And so anyway, we would, even though I was in Logan, he's not gonna be in contact, we're not companions, right, I miss that and so we would. Anyway, he would help me study a little bit, and then one night I get this call on transfer night that I'm going down to Ogden. I'm like, okay, I was not expecting that, because I was in the middle of a big project thing I was doing in Logan and is all of a sudden switch. You know, I was told by mission president I'd be in Logan for the next long, long time. I was gonna get switched on. Ogden was weird and so anyway, I go down to Ogden find out Brent is my companion again.
Marshall Butler:This was I only had one companion in between and so okay, yeah, we were like together left and then right back together again. But what was interesting was in that that one transfer that was switched, the mission changed. We had a new mission president come in and he, the new mission president, apparently didn't know that we were companions before and so that was key because I mean Brent left in oh, in the summer and the new mission president came right in July anyway.
Marshall Butler:So that was also significant because perhaps if we had the same mission president maybe we wouldn't have had that second opportunity together. But right, I get down to Ogden and tell mission president did you know that we're companions before? And he said what?
Scott Brandley:I didn't know that you know he didn't.
Marshall Butler:He didn't know anything about either one of us. He's so brand new. He'd only been there, you know, barely like a one that's really cool.
Alisha Coakley:I didn't know that at all. So, huh, okay, and then, in timing wise, how long were you guys companions before? I don't even remember. I think I gave John your number. Is what had happened? Did he reach out to you guys? I think he did right he did.
Brent Bowen:I think we were talking to brother Miller, who lived just right around the corner from y'all. Yeah, bob, I forgot that was a good guy. We're, but we're talking to. Bob and he told us about John and how he was kind of ministering with John and Bob was actually kind of our little our in sort of, because he's our little bird and I think.
Marshall Butler:Alisha's the real in, though I think she's Alisha's the real in.
Alisha Coakley:I do not get any credit for that at all.
Brent Bowen:No, seriously, like yeah, I want to say it was Alisha that text us and said John wants to learn about the gospel and so we have been a person is. That is that how I went.
Marshall Butler:Okay, I'm pretty sure you had dinner, you met or something like that you want to learn.
Alisha Coakley:Well. So, like the I mean our story was one of the first few to be aired on the podcast. So if anyone wants to hear more of the details of like what was going on with us, you can listen to John Coakley's story. But the gist of it was John and I were getting ready to get divorced. We were like really bad off and he had this whole powerful moment and he had started thinking about you know the church and stuff. Like he wasn't a member, we'd been married for 13 years.
Alisha Coakley:And so he called me one day and he had asked me for the missionaries phone number so he can set up those talk thingies. And I was like why? And it turns out that he had started reading the Book of Mormon without me knowing. I didn't know he was looking into the church, I didn't know any of this kind of stuff. And so he got to second Nephi and he knew that it was true and he was like I have to set up the talk things. Like I said, I was not a part of this. It was totally like we'll give it to John, we'll give it to Zach, we'll give it to Bob, we'll give it to everybody else, not me, I was not one of them, but I was nervous because at first, when he asked for the numbers, I thought that he was like going to yell at you guys for something.
Alisha Coakley:He just he was just mean, he was just like. He was just kind of an ogre a lot of the times, and so I really worried and I was like you're not going to pick on those poor young men, but he just wanted your numbers for the talk thingies. And he said that he knew that the Book of Mormon is true, and so I was like, oh, okay, it was very weird because, like I said, we had decided to get divorced at this point and so I didn't really know like I was happy, but I was like I don't, like this isn't changing our marriage, like what's kind of what I was thinking at the time. So so, yeah, so Bob had come over. This is actually really cool. Bob had come over before John met with you guys and he gave John a blessing, like they they had a good relationship when they were talking gave John a blessing and in his blessing he said some very specific things that only John knew, like John hadn't even told me about, and and John's not a crier, but he was crying during that blessing I was crying, bob was crying. It was really really powerful. So I do think you know, just like all the pieces were just like coming together and I had no idea what they were all doing. So all of that helped. I think him feeling the spirit and having that blessing from Bob gave him like the confidence to move forward and to talk to you guys.
Alisha Coakley:So he, he invites you guys over, you come over, and I remember looking at you guys, john, john was like almost 300 pounds, he's like six to, he's like big, burly mustache, you know. And and here's these clean cut 19 year old boys that you know like, like he's just so big, he's just a big guy. And it was so funny to see the three of you guys sitting on the couches together. You guys had your shoes off, I remember, and you'd be all cozy, like in the corner of the couches with the pillows and the cats and and you guys had, like it was in instant connection, like John loved you guys instantly.
Alisha Coakley:You guys were nerd talking it up and you were talking about hunting and it was like it was like the two pieces of John were separated and they were put into you guys and it was so funny that I didn't even want to disturb that, so I wouldn't even join in on your conversations, I would just kind of like stay back in the kitchen. I did, I did eavesdrop because I wanted to know, but but it was amazing. You guys from that first conversation, do you guys remember what that was like? Why don't you guys tell us something?
Marshall Butler:It was like you said. It was kind of he's a bigger guy, different. We didn't know anything about him. I was kind of nervous to even meet. I just remember we had dinner with you and then he dropped us off at our house in his truck and I was like I was scared. We didn't talk about the gospel at all right before we get out of the car. He mentioned something about the Book of Mormon and I was like, okay, well, what do we say here, you know? And then Brent was good and started the conversation and he invited us back.
Marshall Butler:But when we came, one things I really liked about John is he he could connect with both of us, like you mentioned, like it seemed like he talked to Brent Some things, but for me he mentioned some nerdy science, astronomy, things that I loved about the. We're talking about the creation. I remember specifically talking about the creation of the world, you know, in the beginning of Genesis and we were both able to. He pulled out his Bible. We pulled out our Bibles that we had just recently started studying, because the other guy and we're able to just start having conversations about Bible stories that were still new to us, but we had started becoming more familiar with the Bible and it was all really exciting.
Marshall Butler:Anyway, john was a super friendly guy and I feel like it was easy to have conversations, just questions. He had a question and we're like, wait a second, we've heard that question before together, like a few months ago, and it was almost the exact same question. And we're like, wait a second, we, we actually know the answer to this. You know, we we just read these verses in companionship study, you know, because of the other guy that we taught, and so it was cool that it was like literally lining up exactly the same kind of questions he had with the ones that we had been prepared for.
Marshall Butler:There was no specific like yeah we weren't like nervous, we weren't like scared. We had the confidence and, in the spirit, was there helping, which is a huge help.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, so how was that, brent, for you like that first. You know that first meeting.
Brent Bowen:I remember first meeting John and I want to say it was that. It was that dinner and it was around Halloween time because y'all's house was all decorated and, like Marshall said, he drove us back to our house. And then he just tells us I've been reading the Book of Mormon and I was like, okay, this is it?
Brent Bowen:This is go time and I was. I was a little nervous. I was like at the time I didn't think about our previous person that we had taught, because I didn't know anything about John yet, but I was. So we set up the next appointment, come over. And then I, as we're starting to talk to John, oh, he has similar questions to that guy that we met. And then Marshall and I talked about that independently after the first real sit down discussion and, um, we were like this is it? We know the answers to these questions. But I was nervous. I was like, ah, I hope that John isn't going to be combative like our former investigator. But John was open, he had the spirit with him. So whenever we would discuss these truths of the gospel, he was open to hearing about it and understanding it and like learning the fullness of the gospel. And I think that was. We felt that for sure and and that was evident very early on in our discussions yeah, there was almost like a switch.
Scott Brandley:That happened in John when Because I went, I talked to John several times Before you guys came along, trying to get some type of a spark, because obviously I'm the bishop. So I I knew I was going on in the background with their relationship to some degree, right, and I didn't want that to happen. So and I really liked John as a person, but he was always just kind of closed off, like he wouldn't, he wouldn't open up to me and then as soon as he started taking the discussions, it's, it's almost switched and he was so excited Like it's rare when you find somebody that's that excited about the gospel, especially when they've been around it for 13 years, because Alisha went to church that whole time. Like her, his kids grew up in the church, right, and yeah, we had missionaries over all the time.
Scott Brandley:Yeah.
Alisha Coakley:I mean, john would even go to church and do some activities and stuff and he would like help decorate for Christmas parties and whatever, even not being a member, but He'd never, ever like.
Alisha Coakley:It was like almost everybody knew you just don't talk about the gospel with John, like you can talk about Bible stuff with him, that's it, and just let him lead the conversation. Um, but he would, he would just shut you down instantly if it was anything Gospel related. According to you know, our, our church, um, I actually remember Sarah drawn she. No, let's see, what is this? No, I'm thinking of two different stories, never mind. Well, anyway, I was gonna say one of one of the people that I knew. She was in one word with John and then she came to another word with John and she said that she thought that I had a different husband because there was such a difference in him. You know, like she was just like wait, that that's the same person like she, because he was just so different. So he it was.
Alisha Coakley:I was super surprised, I. I was sitting there listening and I kept waiting for like Something, but you know, like waiting for the other shoe to drop. You know what I mean? Because I was like that's not him. That's not him. That's not how he acts, it's not how he talks. Why is he laughing with these guys? Why, you know, I was so critical of it because I'd never, ever seen that with him and because we weren't working on, like, rebuilding our relationship. We're like we were working on ending it. So it was very, very, it was very confusing. And then the speed Right, like how many discussions was it with you guys?
Brent Bowen:I know it was more than normal, because we lived in a house with our zone leaders and they we would get home at night and John would drop us off and they recognized his truck and they'd be like, so Is your date yet? Are you already baptized? And we'd be like, just just give us a little bit of time. We're, we're working on it. Just yeah, let us, let us handle it. And they'd be like, okay, well, next time try to put them on date for baptism. And we'd be like, just Just give us a second.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, it was funny because you guys didn't ask or anything.
Brent Bowen:No, you would yeah.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, you guys had these amazing conversations and I was just like what is going on? Is there a process, like am I missing out on something? But it felt to me really quick, almost because you guys came over what was like almost every other day or something, wasn't it?
Brent Bowen:it was so we were coming in two or three times a week for a little bit.
Alisha Coakley:There I want to say yeah in the very beginning it was like I felt like you guys were always at the house and I was like what's the heck? He invited him over again.
Marshall Butler:Well, it's just fun and it felt natural. I think that's the big difference was both of Brent and I were not the kind there's given kind of missionaries out there. We weren't the kind of missionaries who were like, all right, we're gonna go in and baptize this person. No, we were just like we're here to be friends and to just have Conversations, help them learn.
Marshall Butler:I remember for the first several appointments I had no in my mind. I was not thinking about him getting baptized, I was just thinking about, hey, there's this really cool guy, I just wanted to talk with him and let's tell some fun stories and make the scriptures fun and exciting. And we just were pretty casual and and about the way that we were kind of teaching in some ways and it. I think that may have helped too that we weren't very strict of like, okay, we're gonna teach this principle and this principle and the lesson is complete. Now we can leave. You know, it's very much of kind of more of a friendship, um, but we still made sure we taught that through that whole thing and it was the cool thing to me was it feel like John was almost pushing, like he was Kind of driving it, because Brent and I weren't the ones right asking those hey, when are you gonna get baptized? He was at the end of the lesson. He was like well, when are you coming back? Like oh, uh, yeah, we can come back again soon.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, and he really did want you back soon.
Alisha Coakley:And it was funny because, uh, it was october and and during that time I think it was just after the first couple lessons with you guys maybe um, we had the opportunity to go to general conference, and so John went to general conference, not as a member of the church, and in general conference, the session that we were in, almost every single speaker brought up One of the things that you guys had discussed he, they brought up, you know, all these old bible or old testament stories or references, and, and specifically I remember them talking about king ahab, and that was something that john was just like I don't know why, but that just the whole thing just really resonated with him and you guys had disgusted quite a bit and, um, and so it was just really interesting, kind of seeing, like how heavenly father had like prepared Like all of these things.
Alisha Coakley:Right, I mean, after 13 years Of me, like begging him to do something with my husband you know what I mean Like it took that long, but like everything just started falling into place really, really quickly, almost to the point where it scared me, like I didn't know if I could believe that it was true, you know, and I like didn't want to get super excited, but I do remember talking to Scott, so why don't you guys tell us before I get to that part, like what was that? How did that go for you when you, when you did ask about baptism?
Brent Bowen:I was scared.
Marshall Butler:The last several times we tried that with other people, it didn't go so well, you know, and so I was really scared and I think we had someone from the ward over with us the back, you know, so we weren't too scared because we had a backup, you know. But I remember we asked about that and then I I don't remember exactly how we asked, but I just remember when, when he was like yes, we're like oh what? Like we seemed somewhat confused and like like excited, but like surprised, we were caught us off guard because we were like so scared that he was just gonna say no and we were gonna be all sad. But anyway, everyone else would you add to that?
Brent Bowen:Oh, I just remember feeling so nervous. I was like I don't like Timing is everything and at the time our mission was Some missionaries and it's some zone leaders are zone leaders that we lived with lived by the three week conversion cycle is what they call it. It's like so you meet somebody, you teach them all the lessons within three weeks and they're baptized on the 21st day. And that's kind of crazy to me and I thought it was crazy at the time. I was like 21 days, that's not much time. I was like I'm lucky if I can even meet three times in three weeks with some of the people that were teaching. How do you expect me to get them ready for baptism in that amount of time? So I was nervous the whole time. I was like I don't want to say anything, to like scare John off, to like ruin this like good, like missionary relationship that we have going on, and so whenever it finally came up, if you want to get baptized, I remember I was like hold my breath. It's like yeah.
Brent Bowen:And then I was like I was just that easy, I guess, but timing's everything. I feel like it had to have happened on that day, no sooner, because that was the day that he was the most prepared and the most willing. Yeah, I'm all about.
Scott Brandley:I'm all about timing. I remember before you guys came, there was another set of missionaries and I went and taught. It was a lady and her daughter and we had some great discussions. Things were going really well and we actually they asked her to be baptized and she said yes. And then the there's the one leaders came back and they're like you need to push the date. I'm like what? Why? Like she already said yes, why do you? Why do you have to push the date? And they wanted it to do it like that week, and so they tried to push it up and she just never answered the phone again.
Scott Brandley:You know, so I think it can actually backfire if you push too hard. I think timing is everything and you have to really follow the spirit, not an agenda. I guess you could say so. I'm glad you guys did that, because that's the right way to do it, we all are.
Alisha Coakley:We all are very good we're both aligned in that way.
Marshall Butler:Some missionaries there's one companion that's not, that's very strict on on, like Scott that you were talking about, like that kind of missionary and some are the more slower and you know, fall God's timing kind of missionary and when you have a different, a mixture of those, it gets there's contention and you can feel when someone's being taught, you know that they're one's trying to push more than the other. But it was actually a blessing that both of us were both on the. The more you know, let's take our time and let's teach solely kind of approach.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, yeah, and I think you know I mean I can't speak for John, but just based on the conversations that we've had that was the key difference with you guys versus any other times that he's met with missionaries before was because your intent was just to get to know him and love him and just teach him a little bit of something, whether he did anything with those teachings there.
Alisha Coakley:There wasn't that, that agenda, there wasn't that ulterior motive with you guys, and I think he could really really feel that that you guys just genuinely, you know, wanted to help wherever you could, whatever that looked like, and so and I think you know you being prepared, that was that was something really special to John too, because he felt like you guys took your mission seriously, that you weren't just out there doing it just to do it, and you know that, but that you you were really trying to learn about, about God's Word and about the gospel, and you were really trying to teach other people. So I think that he respected that immensely and and allowed him to kind of like lower his walls and be more receptive to the spirit and and to saying yes, when you guys asked him about baptism, I remember, I remember calling Scott at one point. Do you remember this, scott?
Alisha Coakley:And I was like I can't remember if I called you and told you that he was meeting with the missionaries or if he was getting baptized. I think I said he was getting baptized. I can't remember the call, but but you, you were like what? Like you were so like really, Like you were so dumbfounded, it was so funny and I was like, yeah, I don't know, I don't even know what to think about this right now, we, and I think our entire ward showed up for the baptism.
Alisha Coakley:I swear Like everyone was taking vets. Is he going to get in the water and then say, just kidding, I don't know, but we had a lot of people show up. It was a very untraditional baptism. I even like down to the program. John does not.
Brent Bowen:I still have that program somewhere in my room.
Marshall Butler:I actually think it's so funny. Yeah, it's like.
Scott Brandley:I didn't see it until I got to the baptism. I'm like, okay, I guess we're rolling with this.
Marshall Butler:I think we tried. I think they didn't want anyone else to see it because it would want him gone, and that was all John.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, that was. He's like I'm not doing one of those stuffy things, you know. He's so like he's going to do his own thing. And so he wanted his own program and he wanted it to be what it was and and, and I remember he really wanted to like hear everybody's testimonies and stuff. Like that was something he's like. No, he's like I don't want like the music and all the stuff in the middle, like because he hates, he hates our church's music, like he just does. He's like it's so boring and old. But so he wanted a lot of people and we had so many people we had to go back into the chapel, right Like we couldn't fit in the young women's room where the baptismal font was, like we had to go into the chapel because there was just too many people. And so we had like our own little testimony meeting during his baptism, which was pretty cool and I don't know.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, I do think everybody was kind of like they were all holding their breath To see if it was really going to happen. Yeah, that was really interesting. So so after that, how long I don't remember how long you guys were together before you got split back up?
Brent Bowen:Not much longer after I was going to say it was almost shortly after right.
Alisha Coakley:Well, it was about to them. It was December December.
Marshall Butler:I think it was in January that I left.
Brent Bowen:It was a little bit before, because I remember Elder Barney came in to be my companion and we actually spent Christmas Day.
Marshall Butler:Oh, you're right, it was Christmas time.
Brent Bowen:It was like right before Christmas or something.
Alisha Coakley:Or the week before, like that it was so close to the baptism, I remember thinking like that went really fast, you know, really really fast. So to me it almost felt like that was the goal, like that was the main reason, and I mean I know that you guys helped other people out too, but I do feel, from my own selfish viewpoint, that that was like the main mission part that you guys were called to put back, you know, to be put back together, or was was for John and yeah. So I don't know how did the rest of the well? And then I guess you guys were, you guys had just been released. So a year later, when our family went and got sealed in the temple, you guys were recently home from your missions. By was it a few months maybe?
Brent Bowen:I went home in. October of 2019 and I was working at UPS and I was making pretty good money, because I was spending like all day, every day, there and so I was like I don't know if I'll be able to get off. But then, like two days before the ceiling, I was like I'm going and so I call my super professor said I'm not going to be there on the 26th, I'm going to be in Utah, and so I bought a plane ticket like the day before Christmas and it flew out on the 26th.
Alisha Coakley:Which was so cool for me because, like, who gets to have the missionary that baptize them at their ceiling, you know, like it's just, it's just such a such a unique thing, and I know for John it meant so much to him, especially like that you, you were still his missionary, like I even call him, like you're John's missionaries, you know, and so I think it just meant so much for him like to still have you guys and you guys still talk, like I know one of you guys.
Marshall Butler:That's right, I sent John a book. You sent him a book. Yeah, I bought him a book.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, and the priest of book, what was it called?
Marshall Butler:Yeah, it's Melchizedek Priesthood by, elder Van Linde.
Alisha Coakley:Right and he told you about this really cool story that happened with that. Do you guys?
Marshall Butler:Oh yeah, he did tell me about that.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, so, john and I and this is where this is where the whole God being the author thing, like the story, just keeps going, right. So we, we were driving home from Dallas, you know, we moved to Texas, right, and we're driving from Dallas back to Lubbock. It's like a five and a half hour drive and we're getting hungry. There's not a lot of towns in between the two places, like a lot of flat nothingness. So we stop in this one little Poe Dunke town. It has two restaurants, it has a Dairy Queen and it has a bar, and so so we stop in the Dairy Queen and we order our food and we turn around and we see two sister missionaries sitting in a booth. Again, this is the middle of nowhere in Texas, right, it's not like Utah and they're speaking with this younger guy and it, you know, we, we like, we're like, we're going to introduce ourselves and say hi.
Alisha Coakley:And so John goes over to the guy and he says you know I was, I was basically where you were not too long ago, you know, like I recently been a member of the church a few years back and the guy had a lot of questions about the priesthood and he was, he was preparing Melchizedek to get the and he was really nervous. And of course, it's sister missionaries, so they don't have like an experience they can give them. As you know, it's just like hearsay, and John happened to have that book in his backpack that he had taken with him on the flight, that he was reading on the flight back to Dallas from Alaska and he felt really inspired to give the book to this guy and so he gave him his number, he gave him the book and it was just, it was really cool because it's like it just the story just keeps going on and on and on. You know. So you guys, your mission is not over, you're still being a priest.
Alisha Coakley:You're still your husband and I appreciate it.
Marshall Butler:Well, I think it's important to mention the timing of that too, because that was just a summer, so that was almost five years after we left, after he got back, or four and a half years after you got baptized, you know, yeah, so it's not like it was just a couple months later, we were just still messaging, but it's like it's been years and it's kind of cool, yeah.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, exactly.
Scott Brandley:So that's awesome. Well, do you guys have any last thoughts about this experience they'd like to share with us? Before we kind of wrap things up?
Brent Bowen:If my mission was for nothing else but to meet the Coakley family and to be involved in John's conversion, even if it was just a little bit, then it was a hundred percent worth it. It's the crowning moment of my service as a missionary. I would not trade that experience for the world.
Alisha Coakley:And I can say you know we've shared this before too on John's story, but I can say, because it was exactly a month to the day after John's baptism that my brother died. Me having a husband who was so spiritually in tune, who was freshly baptized, who was so on fire for the gospel, there were so many moments during my brother's funeral and beforehand and preparing him in, and the grief that happened afterwards, where I don't know if I would have been able to survive without having a husband who is spiritually strong, and so it was like one of those extra gifts that I never would have, even in a million years, have thought, like I never would have thought that you know my brother would have died, never would have thought it would have happened a month after my husband got baptized.
Alisha Coakley:I never would have thought my husband would get baptized. I never even thought my husband was going to still be my husband at that point. And so, just seeing how Heavenly Father has he put all the players in the exact spot, knowing what was coming up and knowing you know like where we all needed to be spiritually, I just think that it's like I can't ever tell you. Thank you enough, you know, for both of you guys for taking your mission seriously and for taking the gospel seriously and for, like, doing the work needed in order to put yourselves in positions where you could make a difference, and I love that you guys are continuing to make a difference.
Scott Brandley:Yeah, marshall, any thoughts?
Marshall Butler:Yeah, though I would say that this experience of in which I really appreciate you adding the details about your brother as well, because that just expands, you know, that story, that it's continuing on this, reflecting back on this story has been really helpful in my life because I've had in the last several years, you know, several disappointments with dating or with career things and whatnot, and this story has helped me.
Marshall Butler:When I look back at my journal and things, remember that God is revealing his will little by little over time, or revealing the path we're supposed to follow, and, and so in the moments now when I'm discouraged about something not working out in life, then I can think about and realize that Maybe there's something coming next. You know, maybe I don't understand how everything's gonna happen. And, alisha, just when you're praying for 13 years that's a long time, and I've only been praying for, you know, a few months and I'm complaining, and so I think, I think I, you know, just your example to me is I can be a little more patient, I can be, and maybe, maybe the blessings I've been waiting for, hoping for, will come in years down the road, and that's okay.
Scott Brandley:They definitely will and I mean you guys are awesome. Thank you so much for you know, just hanging in there and and having the faith to go on a mission and, to, you know, go through the experiences that you have. It's funny how life just kind of ties people and experiences and timing all together to make miracles happen, and I think that's that's what happened here. John is a miracle and and he's blessing a lot of people's lives Because of all of those things coming together and him being baptized.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, yeah, definitely I am.
Alisha Coakley:I had a thought I was gonna read this one little thing real quick, and this is this is from my son, this is something that he sent to me and and it was just so profound, and then so In in looking at a situation where he really wanted to give up, he, he had this experience where he had this Information given to him and and it, and he told me he said, the top reasons why you don't want to be here Are the same reasons you need to stay.
Alisha Coakley:And so I think in that moment or maybe you're dealing with something and you just really don't want to deal with it it could be the very reason why you have to, why you have to deal with it. It could be the very thing that Heavenly Father needs to put in your place so that the rest of the story can be written and so that it can be beautiful. So Thank you guys for coming on and for sharing your story and and for just being you guys, like you guys have brought so much light and Love and joy into our lives and and like we can never we can never repay you for what you did for our family. So we love you guys Think I almost made it through without crying.
Scott Brandley:Yeah, well, and you know, thank you everyone for watching this podcast. We couldn't do this without you and without your support. I had a lady come in, come to come to talk to me today in my ward and she, you know she got teary-eyed, thinking us and you don't know this, Alisha but thanking us for doing this podcast, and it was. It was humbling to hear her, you know, and to see the gratitude that she has for, for these stories that we share. So, thank you for being here and thank you for, you know, being part of this experience with us. Yeah, if and if any of you out there listening have a story that you'd like to share, you know this is the place go to Latter-day lights dot com and and tell us your story and let's have you on the show.
Alisha Coakley:Yeah, absolutely, and not just because I'm biased and I love this story and it's one of my favorites, but it has a lot of really good nuggets and, I think, a lot of really good lessons and testimony builders in it. So do your five-second missionary work. Make sure that you click that share button, that you get, that you get Brent and Marshall's story Out there to the rest of the world and comment. Please, let us know what your favorite part is, or let us know, you know, if you have Some experiences similar to them or some thoughts that that arose during the story or questions. Apparently they really like to study and Now they are allowed to study together, even though they're on different time zones. You guys can ask them a question. We'll send them to the books, but honestly, we really do appreciate everybody. Brent, marshall, thank you guys so much for being you and for sharing your story today and Until next week, we hope everybody has a wonderful, wonderful week and that you keep the spirit with you, alright.
Scott Brandley:Okay, tell them bye. See ya, see ya, bye.